Virus or no virus, UK will stick to its Brexit timetable

This Brexit process is cursed. Just when it finally seemed like nothing can come between the UK and its dream of glorious isolation, an unprecedented force of nature sent its millions into self-isolation. And now it is highly unlikely that Johnson will get to keep the timeline he was chasing to get Brexit done. With 4,313 deaths, the UK is fourth in the John Hopkins University table that counts fatalities due to Covid-19. It has so far reported 42,479 positive cases, including that of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. 'Exit strategy', which just three months ago meant how the UK would eventually leave the European Union, has taken an entirely new meaning in the year of the coronavirus.

The government doesn't yet have an exit strategy and there's no fixed point, no specific date in the calendar at which they can say things will change. Boris Johnson is set to review the lockdown measures currently in place on 13 April. The UK last week performed a significant U-turn in its handling of the coronavirus pandemic this week. After days of savage criticism in the press over its laggard testing strategy, Britain's top Health Minister made a bold new pledge of conducting 1,00,000 tests a day by the end of April. Testing companies in the UK have been left "mystified" by the government's promise to carry out so may coronavirus tests a day by the end of April. Industry leaders tasked with producing Covid-19 tests said they were blindsided by the four week deadline announced by Matt Hancock and warned the kits wouldn't be ready until June.

The target it seems is the government's target that it set without any consultation with the industry. It is no secret that Brexit is making the UK's ability to handle this pandemic uniquely difficult, on both a political and practical level. By the end of June, Johnson's government has a huge decision to make: Whether or not it wishes to extend the Brexit transition period, it is due to expire on December 31. The advantage of seeking an extension is largely practical. The UK still imports a huge amount of medical supplies, fresh food, toilet paper and other things that are essential in a crisis from EU member States.

Because the transition period still allows for frictionless trade between the UK and the EU, it means that these things can leave ports across Europe in the morning and be on shelves or in hospitals that afternoon. That has proven quite useful during this unprecedented crisis for the UK and given the fact trade talks with the EU are not currently happening, might continue to be useful later down the line. The disadvantage of extending is largely political. The price of frictionless trade is a loss of political dignity. If the UK is forced to extend the transition period until the end of 2021, that's another year in which the UK would still obey EU rules and pay into EU budgets but without any say in policy. A vassal State, if you will. Which is why the government's official position is that virus or no virus, the UK will stick to its Brexit timetable. Not just Britain, post-corona, every country will have to make adjustments to its external policies.